The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1887-07-07
Fhe Blue and the Gray.

Fhe Blue and the Gray.
The reunion OF thesurvivors of the
Philadelphia Brigade and of Picketts
Virginia division upon the field of
Gettysburg, where twenty-four years
ago they met in deadly conflict, nc
cords with the renewed interest in the
anniversary of American Independ.
ence. Nearly aquarter of II century
has passed since that bloody battle
which decided the course of history
and secured the preservation of the
Union but it has perhaps required all
that time not only for the animosi-
ties of war to be entirely eflaced, but
for the combatants upon each side to
recognize the full meaning of the
great contest and its importance in
the evolution of free government in
America. The better the war is un-
derstood, whether as an inevitable
step in the working out of political
ideas or even in its purely military as
poets, the more fully each side has
learned to respect the courage and de.
vOtion of the other and to regard the
war itself as triumphant test of
American heroism In whose results
all Americans may have an equal
share.
There haye been cordial meetings
OF the veterans Of the Blue and GRAY
before now, for the men who did the
ernest fighting have been foremost in
demanding peace but there has been
none so peculiarly significant as that
described to-day. The advance of
Picketts command upon Cemetery
Hill, one of the most superb exhibitions
OF human valor that the world has
ever seen, marked the turning point
OF the war. 1t was the highest wave
OF Southern military prowess that
brake against the guns of the Phila.
delphia brigade. For moment fate
seemed trembling in the balance
then the remnant OF the devoted
band fell back and Lee was defeated
and the COnfederacy doomed. The
men who had met thus face to face in
desperate battle learned to honor and
respect and trust one another and
there are no reservations or conceal
ments when they clasp one anothers
hands.
The words spoken at Gettysburg
yesterday are as patriotic as they are
frank and soIdierly. On the one side
a full recognition of the results of the
war and OF the issues which it settled
once and forever, and an earnest desire
to turn away from the past and all its
bitterness and to go forward in the
new and fuller life of the reunited Re-
public. On the other side a brave
and brotherly spirit of friendship.
trust and reconciliation that, without
yielding or apology, puts away all an
| ger and recrimination and welcomes
into the new and closer bonds under
the folds of the old flag, those whose
valor has shown those worthy of the
American name. In this frank renn-
ion our soldiers speak for those for
whom in former years they fought.
In spite OF the pretended fears of fool
ish demagogues, the whole country
unquestionably responds to the senti-
ment here expressed. The admirable
letter Of President Cleveland express
es this strongly, but even more signif-
cant is the letter of Senator Sherman.
certainly the most trusted representa-
tive OF the Republican party of the
North, whose full recognition of the
fact that the war is over and reunion
accomplished is an Acknowledgement
that no party can hereafter appeal to
popular favor by sectional animosties
or distrust.
The fathers OF the Revolution, when
they promulgated the Declaration
whose anniversary we keep tomorrow,
or when "to form more perfect
union" they framed the Constitution
whose centennial is to be celebrated
next September, could not ioresee and
provide against every problem of gov
ernment that was to arise in the un-
exampled growth and development Of
the young nation. They left many
things undetermined, but some Of
these it was the labor and the priyi-
lage Of our own generation to settle by
the arbitrament of the sword. To this
extent the Republic is greater and
stronger than the fathers left it, made
so teiough that suffering and sacrifice
which men learn to love their land
and totrust their fellow men.-Phda.
, delphja Times